I’m sorry for what I done. Jesus is Lord.
I don’t know what y’all called her, but I called her Roz.
I love you endlessly, my honeybird.

Cathy, you know I never meant to hurt
you. Our love is like…the nectar of the gods.
I’m sorry for what I done. Jesus is Lord.

Let me know if I’m praying right. The Word
of the Lord. That I’m going somewhere good.
I love you endlessly, my honeybird.

Only the sky and green grass go on forever,
and today is a good day to die. Oh God,
I’m sorry for what I done. Jesus is Lord.

Tell the guys I’m not wearing a diaper.
I can’t think of anything else. You all stay strong.
I love you endlessly, my honeybird.

Don’t bury me in the prison graveyard.
Don’t bury me next to Dad. Bury me beside Mom.
I’m sorry for what I done. Jesus is Lord.
I love you endlessly, my honeybird.

 

 

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Eileen Talone received her MFA in poetry from New York University in 2011 and currently lives in New York, where she is an assistant editor at the Hudson Review.